Jesus Trail/Nazareth

We spent the past four days hiking from Nazareth to Capernaum on the Jesus Trail--a fantastic opportunity with incredible views! We had beautiful weather, despite the mud from rain earlier this week. This gave me plenty of time to think about this past semester and how much I have learned both about the region and myself. I cannot believe we only have a little over 2 weeks left, and that TOMORROW is our last day in Israel! Right now I'm just taking one day at a time, but I am looking forward to Greece and Italy.

Each night on the Jesus Trail we slept in completely different locations. Night 1: Cana, an Arab town where Jesus turned the water into wine. Night 2: an Israeli goat farm with many sustainability aspects. Night 3: a high-class Bed and Breakfast on the cliffs of Arbel. The Galilee is packed with cultures, and I find it fantastic that you can walk from one to another. The trail connects people to one another in ways not possible otherwise.

Now we are in Nazareth, staying at the Fauzi Azar Inn. We spend our mornings at Nazareth Village, doing whatever needs to be done. I have mostly been weeding around grape vines and clearing dirt from stone homes, but some other people were able to take care of donkeys and goats. My job hasn't required me to dress in first-century garb--hopefully tomorrow I can!

Most of our projects are coming to an end, and I have finished all my papers for the semester. In my next blog post I plan on writing my "Personal Response to the Middle East Conflict" which I had to write already. Until then!

-James